Whether right or wrong, I try to buck my "yawnable" (love that!!) colors next to a popping color. It has worked well for me. Here is a great pattern to try it out on and see what a difference it makes.
Go to RobertKaufman.com and look up the "Sew to Grow" pattern. It is so easy and so pretty. It's what I'm working on now for a wall hanging. You can stop anywhere in the pattern to make it the size you need.